Why Her?
by owenluver
Summary: After the events of Girl in the Fireplace, Rose has one question for the Doctor.


Title: Why Her?

Rating: R just to be safe.

Pairing: Mainly Ten/Rose but hints at Ten/Reinette, Rose/Adam, Rose/Jack and Rose/Mickey

Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine. The characters belong to the BBC, not me.

AN: This contains mild sexual references and a few harsh words. Okay, I nearly didn't post this because it seems rather out of character at various points, but I had to do that for the story. This has a mixture of all different genres I suppose, and the mood changes. It's set after Girl in the Fireplace, so spoilers up to there. Any concrit is welcome, and I'm pretty sure there will be a lot.

"Why her?"

The Doctor looked up from the TARDIS console where he had been staring for he did not know how long. She must have been unable to sleep. Her rumbled top and shorts and her messy hair gave that away. He swallowed slightly: his throat had suddenly become dry.

"I don't know. Perhaps the clockwork robots got confused."

Rose shook her head and stepped closer.

"Why _her_?"

The Doctor frowned as he heard her voice crack. He stared straight at her, blocking out everything else, and only then did he see the faint tear tracks down her cheeks. He stood up straight.

"Rose. Have you been crying?"

Rose stepped back slightly and looked away.

"No. No I haven't. I'm just tired."

The Doctor slowly stepped towards her.

"Why don't I believe you?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and slowly turned her back on him.

"I don't know."

Quickly, she took flight down the dimly lit corridors at an incredible speed. The Doctor blinked, confused about what had just happened. Shaking himself slightly, he chased after her.

"Rose! Rose where are you!"

The Doctor mentally hit himself. If she wanted to speak to him then she wouldn't have ran. He took off again, pleading with the TARDIS to co-operate and lead him to her. He tried every door he came to, but still no luck. He stopped and stared sternly at the wall.

"Right, I've had enough of this. Now show me where she is."

The Doctor was amazed when a door appeared. Grinning he opened it. And fell face first into the swimming pool. Spluttering, he got out and closed the door, glaring at the wall.

"That wasn't funny. Now come on. You don't want Rose upset. Where is she? Tell me where she is, or I'll get another TARDIS."

The lights flickered, almost as if the TARDIS was yelling back at him. The Doctor sighed. He knew that wouldn't work. He slowly brought a hand up to the wall.

"I'm sorry. Please. Tell me where she is."

The Doctor slowly closed his eyes and an image slowly came to the forefront of his mind. He smiled, muttered a 'thank you' and took off at high speed.

As he reached the door he stopped to get his breath back. Reaching forward, he grasped the door handle and slowly walked in. He remembered showing her this room so well. Right after she had gone to see her father die. He had told her that it always brought him comfort and ever since, if they had had a particularly trying day, you would find either one of them sitting within its beauty. He looked around and felt his hearts clenched as he saw Rose sitting, her knees brought tightly to her chest. Slowly he walked over and knelt beside her.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

Rose nodded and ran her hand through the crystal clear lake. The Doctor sighed and took a look around the room.

"It's hard to believe that there used to be a planet like this."

Rose brought her head up quickly to stare at him.

"I never told you that, did I?"

Rose shook her head no and went back to staring at the lake. The Doctor looked around, tears slowly coming to his eyes.

"This is an exact replica of Gallifrey. My home planet."

The Doctor jumped slightly as he felt Rose's hand curl within his own. He stared back at her, noticing he had her full attention.

"You mean it was exactly like this? All copper and stuff?"

The Doctor smiled and nodded.

"Two suns. One would rise in the south. The mountain ranges would shine every morning as they rose. The grass was a deep, deep red capped with the whitest snow. The trees were covered in silver leaves. During our day, the sky would be burnt orange, making the leaves appear to be on fire. The moon was a copper shade. Would bask the planet in the most beautiful shade at nighttime. That's why this room is copper just now. It's mapped out to the same structure as Gallifreyan time."

Rose felt tears come to her eyes. Wrapping her arms around him, she felt the tears fall from her eyes. The Doctor wrapped his arms tighter around her. After a few moments Rose whispered her question from earlier.

"Why her?"

The Doctor pulled away, rubbing her tears away.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you choose her?"

The Doctor felt his breath hitch in his throat. So that was what she had meant.

"Rose, I had to go. If I hadn't the whole of history would have been messed up. I had to go and save her."

Rose pulled away and stood up, walking over to a curved, wooden bench and sitting.

"I know. But you just ran off. You grabbed that horse and galloped off. Off to save the damsel. And I understand, because that's what you do. You save those in trouble. But you just left me and Mickey, without a word. You just told me you had an idea, jumped on the horse and galloped off. What if you never came back? What if we were stuck there, forever?"

The Doctor stared open mouthed as he heard Rose's confession.

"Rose I knew you would be alright. I knew everything would be fine. The TARDIS wouldn't have left you. She would have found a way for you to get home. I had to stop history from getting changed."

Rose nodded her head.

"Yes I understand the whole saving the universe thing, but why were you going to invite her along? Wouldn't that have messed with history? I'm pretty sure that the eighteenth century needed its whore. After all, that's what a courtesan is."

The Doctor sat speechless for a second then suddenly felt angry. Standing up he began to yell at Rose.

"How dare you! Reinette was one of the most amazing women on Earth. One of the most amazing women in history! She's not some common whore, as you put it!"

Rose stood up, hands clamped at her waist.

"Oh yeah? She left her husband just so she could be the mistress of a king! That seems rather pathetic if you ask me. Leaving the man you love just so you can be with someone worth more. And let's see. You went back to be with her. That makes you just as bad!"

The Doctor stood closer to her.

"Oh and you're little miss perfect, are you? You have your precious Mickey and yet, you seemed to badly need Adam and Jack! Oh sure, Adam was only one trips worth, but Jack. That was quite a while. And don't act innocent, I seen the glances. And on the odd occasion I even heard what was going on. And now you have Mickey on board. I wonder if he knows about your nighttime escapades with the Captain. Maybe if I told him, he'd be happier about the fact I left you for Reinette. Give him his own whore back!"

Rose pulled her hand back, releasing it forcefully against the Doctor's face. The Doctor stared in shock, anger rising fully.

"Don't ever slap me!" He yelled at her forcefully.

Rose glared and went to slap him again but he caught her wrist before it could make contact. He pushed her away, and to his horror, she fell further and harder than he anticipated. Her head banged off of a tree, which had been planted in the room. Rose instantly brought her hand up to her head, screaming in pain. The Doctor's eyes widened as he realised what he had done. He ran over, kneeling by her. Slowly he reached out his hand, only to have it batted away by Rose.

"Rose…Oh Rose. God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm so, so sorry. I was just so mad."

Rose blinked, causing tears to role down her cheeks. The Doctor's hearts clenched in pain as he saw how hurt she was. The Doctor reached out, brushing her tears away. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, but gave her the opportunity to back away if she wanted. He felt joy rise slightly within himself as she melted into his arms, more tears being released. He panicked for a moment, thinking she may be in more pain than he thought. She was. He closed his eyes as he realised this was not only pain of physical hurt, but emotional. He had truly messed up here.

"Rose. I am so sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to push you away."

Rose looked up at him.

"I forgive you. I suppose."

The Doctor shook his head no.

"No, I meant for pushing you away and racing after Reinette. You wanted to know why her? Well for a moment, I saw something in her that reminded me of someone I knew. A Time Lady, if you will. She travelled with me and now she's gone. I just saw the confidence in her, and my mind went blank. It was almost like seeing her back. Back from the dead. And then there were aspects of Reinette which were like you. Your beauty. Your kindness. Your boldness. Yet, she was in my reach. With you, I could never act on my feelings. I couldn't loose you. I need you too much."

"So you went for someone that you felt was like me?"

The Doctor nodded.

"It seems stupid now you say it."

Rose nodded.

"It does a bit, doesn't it?"

The Doctor laughed lightly. He paused when he saw Rose staring up at him, confusion on her face.

"What? What's wrong?"

Rose smiled.

"I was just wondering why you never told me. Why you never asked me how I felt."

The Doctor sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Big coward, me. I can't face up to my feelings. Plus, I can't jeopardise your friendship."

Rose grinned.

"Well, what was it you said about me? Jeopardy friendly?"

Rose grinned and slowly reached up, placing her lips on his.


End file.
